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Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has quietly functioned as one of the main arteries through which Afghanistan’s massive opium crop reaches the outer world. Six of the nine major drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan transit through Balochistan en route to Iran, Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Afghanistan’s opium production peaked at 9,000 tons in 2017, on account of the country’s rampant instability and lack of viable options for families to sustain themselves.

The book deals with the historical, cultural, geopolitical, strategic, socio-economic and political perspectives on the entire Karakoram-Himalayan region. It is based on the papers contributed by area specialists and experts from the region.

Analysing peace journalism is a difficult task, especially within the context of an ongoing conflict. This study looks at peace journalism as it relates to the Balochistan/Pakistan conflict. Balochistan is a Pakistani province that makes up a large part of the country and is rich in natural resources. The Pakistani government has employed a policy of resource exploitation in the province, withholding any due share of profit from the Baloch.

Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: India's role in the so called "liberation movement" in Bangladesh was facilitated by several enabling factors, i.e., shared border with Bangladesh, overflow of refugees into its territory, unity and legitimacy of the group leading the movement, international sympathy and withering capacity of the Pakistan military. The historical as well as geopolitical conditions were also quite favourable for the Bangladeshis. India's proactive role in 1971 was considered necessary and legitimate against this backdrop.

Baloch movement has been different. Interestingly, unlike in the case of Bangladeshis, where both the leadership and the people fought for Pakistan, neither the Baloch leaders nor the Baloch people expressed any enthusiasm for Pakistan. In fact, they argued vociferously against the principle of religion forming the basis of partition. The Khan of Kalat was coerced into signing the instrument of accession. The Baloch people never supported such accession. They have been rooting for independence and confronting the mighty Pakistan army ever since. There have been five phases of insurgency in Balochistan so far; however, the military of Pakistan has been able to maintain its control over the Baloch territory. Because of lack of unity (Balochis utterly divided along tribal and ideological lines), international apathy, and unfavourable demographic conditions, the Baloch movement for independence has not been able to pose any critical threat to Pakistan.

Because of Pakistan's ongoing policy of using subversion as an instrument vis-à-vis India, there is a strong argument in favour of India paying back Pakistan in its own coin. This would entail nourishing subversive constituencies like the Balochis in Pakistan and enable them to continue their militant struggle against the Pakistan state. While this may sound perfectly realistic and rational as a counter-strategy, India may not be able to justify and sustain any such action in the long run. Moreover, this does not go well with India's stature as a rising power with a moral grand-standing (as a nation committed to principles of non-violence and non-interference) and increasing global commitments. While the temptation to try out such an option may have led to discussions on the issue among the members of the strategic community, there is no enthusiasm for any such option at the leadership level. India can at best take a moral position and appeal to the world community against the incidents of excesses and disappearances to bring in international pressure and opprobrium on the Pakistan military. Any proactive policy on Balochistan (like on Bangladesh in 1971) is therefore ruled out.

The book covers the developments in post colonial Balochistan, its geo-political significance, and the underlying grievances of the Baloch. It makes an attempt to analyse the reasons for current revival of violence in Balochistan and highlights the current situation in the region.

The month of May 2009 was the most violent month in Pakistan in the last five years. As the security forces launched a concerted operation against the Taliban in Malakand Division, the casualties shot up almost five times. The month recorded 504 violent incidents against 332 in April, which resulted in the loss of 2,585 lives. Most of the casualties were due to Operation Rah-e-Rast launched by the security forces in Swat and adjacent districts.

The liberation of Turtuk block and Siachen glacier in 1971 and 1984 respectively eliminated any threats that could have come from Pakistan having a contiguous border with China along the crest of the Karakoram Range and endangering India’s sovereignty over Jammu & Kashmir. Today, they form part of the Nubra sub-division of Leh district.